Confessions: The Brightest and Darkest Night
by Art-Over-Matter
Summary: "I'm not going to leave you here," Sean said hesitantly. "I know you want me to, but if you don't tell me what is happening, I'm goin' to just stay here to find out." Mark looked at him, and Sean didn't miss the fact that his fearful eyes turned a glowing gold. "Then I'm sorry, Sean. I'm sorry for what's going to happen."


Mark remembered it as he was going to bed. How he'd forgotten, or lost track of time, he didn't know. But as soon as it occurred to him, he knew he had to leave.

Fast.

He snatched his glasses off the hotel's beside table and hurriedly put them on, missing his left ear at first so they sat diagonally, caught on his nose. He fixed them only after he yanked on a jacket and shoved his feet into the nearest shoes.

He expected to make it to his rental car without problems, but as it turned out, he wasn't the only one who had stayed up late.

"Mark?" the startled Irishman said as Mark accidentally shoulder-slammed him in the hallway. "What are ye doin'?"

"Oh, God, sorry Jack, I have to go. Never mind, I'll explain in the morning!"

A curl of dread touched Mark's gut as he pushed past Jack and ran through the lobby of the hotel. What if Jack tried to stop him? What if he'd already stalled too long?

"Mark!" the voice pursued him, but he could tell Jack wasn't chasing him.

Fine. He'd come up with some sort of lie to tell everyone the next day.

He didn't have time for it now.

Mark jumped into the car and fumbled with the key in the ignition before starting the engine. He forced himself to stop and take a deep breath. His panic was only going to slow him down. He had to keep his mind clear.

It would be the last time he'd be able to that night.

_x_

Sean watched his friend fly through the lobby and out the door while Jack's last call still echoed in the room. He stood, shocked, and shook his head vigorously.

Was Mark in trouble? Why had he looked so afraid when his eyes had met Sean's? Was he running from something? To something? To somewhere?

Sean shook his head and frowned. He couldn't shake the feeling that Mark needed him. Maybe it wasn't his business, but he was going to make it so. His friend was in trouble, and he was going to help.

Jack ran back to his hotel room as fast as he could (ironically, his amusing phrase 'speed is key' popped into mind), snatched his keys up, and bolted back out to the lobby. He made it out to the parking lot in time to see Mark's dark blue rental Lexus speed away.

Without another thought or hesitation, Sean leapt into his own rental and took up chase.

_x_

It took Mark a few minutes to notice that the silver car behind him was not only matching his—illegal—speed for fifteen minutes or more, but it was also taking every turn he did, even when he got momentarily turned around and had to loop around a block before heading in the right direction.

The light inside the vehicle was too dim for him to see in, but as the two cars passed under some streetlights, Mark noticed that it was a Toyota sedan.

Wait.

Wasn't Jack's rental car a Toyota?

Mark growled in frustration, his mood already dampening to anger as it reliably would every time this happened. Now he would really have to be unpredictable.

A brief thought flitted through his mind that perhaps he could text Jack and tell him fuck off, but he realized immediately that he hadn't brought his phone. He hated himself for considering being so rude, but he would have done it as long as it would keep Jack off his tail.

Mark yanked his car around in a hard right, but he didn't come close to losing Jack. The Irishman was just far enough behind him to process every turn he took—Jack even had time to signal briefly before turning—but close enough he wouldn't miss Mark's car going down a side street.

Mark cursed under his breath. He wasn't going to be able to lose Jack. The only time he could would be while he was in town, but he was already almost out and if he stalled too long he might not make it to the forest or the fields in time.

He would have to deter Jack some other way.

_x_

The farther he followed Mark, the more Sean became uncertain that he'd made the right choice. It was obvious that Mark was trying to lose him. But at this point, he wasn't going to give up the chase. Maybe once he found out Mark's destination, he would leave him alone. But his worry and curiosity weren't diminishing as he followed Mark's Lexus out of the city.

Mark stopped taking random turns a few minutes later. It was as though he'd given up the idea of shaking Sean off his path. Wherever he was going, he was intent on getting there fast.

Sean started to truly become concerned when he noticed Mark's driving become even more erratic—he was not only speeding, but also drifting to the edge of the road now and again or turning his car too sharply and having to correct for it.

Jack reached to the seat next to him and grabbed his phone. He'd managed to keep it in hand, even after his dash to get his keys and back. He opened his contacts and called Mark. He wasn't sure Mark had his phone with him—or that he'd answer if he did—but he could at least try.

The phone rang several times before going to Mark's voicemail.

Sean cursed and tossed the phone back onto the seat. He really was going to have to do this as good as blind.

Not long after the call, Mark's Lexus pulled off the road, dipping down into a gravel ditch and rolling a hundred meters or so before lurching to a stop at a fence.

Sean slowed abruptly and rolled his car to the shoulder, flipping on his hazard lights as he parked and got out into the sharply cool fresh air.

"Mark?" he called, hearing Mark's car door slam.

It was surprisingly bright out, but now that they weren't in town and Sean wasn't watching his headlights, it seemed dark.

He got no reply.

_x_

It always started as a pain in his back. Usually his lower back, though it varied each time. It wasn't just an ache, either. It was full-on agony, as though his own vertebrae wanted to slice him in half.

Mark was leaning heavily against his car, which he had turned off, and though it took him a moment, he realized he was hyperventilating.

He heard a voice again, though this time startlingly close. "Mark?" Jack asked softly.

Mark could tell his behavior had shaken Jack. Rarely ever, in the time they'd spent together, had Mark heard Jack say something in a way that could be described as soft.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked, coming around the back of the car.

Mark took a moment to react, then spun violently on Jack, startling him. "I don't want you here, Jack. Why did you follow me?"

The Irishman looked taken aback by the snarl in Mark's voice. "I—I…just wondered what was wrong. You look terrible, Mark, you're all pale—"

"It's the lighting," Mark snapped, though he knew he was visibly shaking. "The goddamn lighting." He glanced up at the moon, mentally cursing it to hell, then looked away and shook his head fiercely. He took a moment to try to calm down before speaking. "Jack," he said, and his tone was desperate, but firm. "Jack, you _have_ to leave. In just a moment, I'm going to lose my mind, and I could hurt you if you're still around. I don't know _why_ you felt the need to follow me…" He paused and tried to lift the angry edge that had crept back into his voice. "But you can't be here any longer."

Jack frowned and shook his head, staring vacantly at Mark as he tried to process everything. "I…I don't understand. I can tell you're in pain; if you could just tell me what's wrong, maybe—"

"You won't believe me," Mark snarled, then winced as electric pain shot up his back.

The transformation was going to start to progress fast.

_x_

"Mark, you're obviously not okay. I should get emergency help or some—"

" _No!_ " Mark roared in such a fierce tone that Jack took a step back, though he stopped cold when he saw the fear in Mark's eyes.

Sean could admit that he hadn't been around Mark in person very many times, but he knew him well enough to know that Mark was _never_ this angry. Right now, he was scary angry, and normally he was difficult even to annoy. What the fuck could make him so mad?

"You can't call anyone," Mark said, much more weakly, through a cringe. There was such dread in his voice that right then, somehow, Jack was certain this had happened to him before.

Whatever 'this' was.

"Fuck, I wish you'd go back…" Mark started tightly, more to himself than Sean, but Jack didn't let him get far.

"I'm not going to leave you here," Sean said hesitantly. "I know you want me to, but if you don't tell me what the fuck is happening, I'm goin' to just stay here to find out."

Mark looked at him, and Sean didn't miss the fact that his fearful eyes turned a glowing gold. "Then I'm sorry, Sean. I'm sorry for what's going to happen."

_x_

The pain from his back spread entirely throughout his body and the last thing Mark Fischbach saw was Jack's scared face. Then he became the wolf.

He heard fabric rip and felt the pressure around him release, but he could barely feel his shirt slide off of him because he was already covered in fur. His sense of smell sharpened and his fangs lengthened until they prodded his lower lip—proportionally about three times the size of a normal wolf's teeth.

His body settled into form and the pain faded away. He was breathing heavily, the stage just before panting, and his muscles were twitching slightly from the adjustment.

The wolf raised its head, and it realized it wasn't alone.

_x_

Sean stood in horrified awe as he watched his friend be consumed by the form of a wolf. Mark grunted in pain before he became more animal than human. His body erupted with dark gray fur and he was forced to all fours as his hands and feet became paws with deadly-sharp black claws. Muscles bulged from underneath his shirt until eventually it tore in multiple places and fell off his back. As his snout widened, his glasses bent and snapped in the middle, falling into the tall grass and disappearing from sight.

In less than a minute, the transformation was complete and Markiplier was gone. The wolf—the werewolf—that replaced him was massive, his shoulder height reaching to the middle of Jack's torso, his body ribboned with thick, powerful muscles under smooth, dark gray fur. He was whimpering softly at first, but the innocent noise quickly ceased and the wolf lifted its huge head to look at Jack. For a moment, when the animal's eyes met Sean's, the Irishman could have sworn that it wore Mark's expression.

But it was quickly gone.

The wolf snarled, baring its twenty-centimeter fangs, then threw its head back and howled.

The startlingly loud noise shook Sean out of his stupor and he started to backpedal. He understood everything now—though he could hardly believe it—and at the moment, he really, really wished he'd left when Mark told him to.

Jack took the opportunity while Mark was howling to turn and start to run. He heard the howl cut short behind him and by instinct threw himself to the ground as the massive wolf leapt over his head. It landed heavily, growling, and skidded around to face Sean again.

"Mark…" Jack said, his voice breaking in fear. "You're still in there somewhere, I know you must be…."

The wolf paused, its head down but not quite in a stalking way, its unyielding yellow eyes glowing out at Sean in the darkness. Its lips curled into a snarl, and Jack knew his measly attempt had failed.

The werewolf lunged forward again, opening its jaws in preparation to tear Sean to bits, and Jack knew he didn't have long in this fight. He ducked under Mark again and took off running as fast as he possibly could back toward the lifeless Lexus. He heard the animal take up pursuit behind him, gaining on him fast.

Sean yanked open the car door and made it inside just as the wolf's claws raked against the exterior of the door. The screeching of metal told Sean just how strong a werewolf actually was.

He searched the car for a key, but it was nowhere to be found.

"Shit," Jack said to himself. "Oh, fuck, fuck, _fuck!_ "

Mark must have taken the key out of the car with him, and now Jack was trapped in the car with no way out. His Toyota was still up on the road, engine on, but there was no way he'd make it there in time.

A _thud_ on the car made Sean jump and look up through the windshield. The werewolf was standing on the hood, baring its teeth.

Their staring contest lasted only a moment before Jack slowly started to move to get in the back of the sedan. As soon as he budged, the wolf pounced at the windshield, hitting with a loud _thud_ and _crack._

Spider webs flew across the glass from the impact.

The wolf backed up, unharmed, and swiped at the glass with a paw. In an instant, the glass shattered into tiny, glittering polygons and Jack threw up his arms to protect his face. He felt the cold slivers spread across his lap and chest. For a moment, there was silence, and he slowly, shakily, took his arms away from his face.

A giant wolf's snout snapped closed centimeters from his face and he jerked back into the seat in shock. But it quickly made him realize that Mark couldn't reach him in here.

Jack slid himself onto the console of the car and started to push himself into the backseat. The wolf's paws tore at the dashboard and it ducked down to bite at him again.

This time, Jack made a move. After the snout snapped shut again, Sean shifted and slammed his heel into the wolf's lower jaw. It yelped in surprise and backed up out of the car.

Jack took a few panicked, shuddering breaths and tried to get himself to think normally. He was going to get out of this alive. And he wouldn't hurt his friend—wolf or not—in order to do it.

Sean took another deep breath, slid into the backseat to avoid the glass, and opened the car door.

_x_

The wolf wasn't expecting the pain it received in its jaw. It took a moment to recover from its surprise, then growled and peered back down into the vehicle.

Its prey wasn't scrambling around anymore. He looked surprisingly calm all of a sudden, and that made the wolf pause. But it could still smell blood and flesh, and everything inside it yearned to tear it apart.

No. Not everything.

But that tiny bit of Mark Fischbach still inside the wolf's mind had no control over what happened.

It heard the car door open and it leapt down from the hood, crouching to prepare to pounce.

"I—I think you're still in there, Mark," the Irish-accented voice said as the prey shut the vehicle door. "You must be."

The werewolf stopped and cocked its head slightly to the side, its ears forward instead of plastered back in a snarl.

"Th—there's no way Mark would've had the reaction to this that he did if there wasn't some tiny part of him in you," the human said cautiously. "You're still there, Mark."

The wolf didn't move.

No. Not everything.

_x_

Sean didn't really know what he was saying. The words came to him, not fully expressing his thoughts but doing their best.

"I can't…I can't match you in this form, Mark," he said, looking the wolf in the eyes. He squatted down, and from their distance apart, he was just barely below the animal's eye level. "And I refuse to try to fight you. But I'm going to have to believe that you're still my friend, somehow. Whatever happens tonight, that remains a fact." He paused and took a breath. "You're my friend, Mark, and I don't believe you're being completely controlled by a monster."

The wolf looked at him, nothing in its demeanor changing throughout his speech.

"Can ye even hear me?" Jack said desperately. "Do ye have any idea what I'm sayin'? Please tell me you do, please…."

The werewolf lifted a paw and stepped forward, slowly. Its ears dropped back, but not in a snarl. Its tail drooped and Sean could see in its eyes that at least right then, it was no monster.

Jack slowly lifted a hand as the wolf stepped forward, first as a nervous _don't come any closer,_ then slowly turned his palm up in an offering for the canine to sniff.

Mark nuzzled his hand gently, and when he looked at Sean, Sean could read all the fear and sorrow and pain that he would've been able to see written across Mark's human face.

Then the wolf stiffened slightly, turned away, and ran, disappearing, into the night.

-0-

Sean awoke when the sun had risen just high enough to spill light across the backseat of the car. He blinked awake and looked around him, momentarily confused. Why was he lying in a car, and why was there glass on the floor in front of him?

He oriented himself quickly and remembered what had happened last night. He remembered waking up several times while it was still dark, too, expecting to see a wolf somewhere nearby. There never had been one.

If it weren't for the glass in the car or the claw marks on the dashboard, Jack would have been sure he'd been dreaming everything that happened last night. Everything that involved Mark or the wolf seemed surreal, but Sean recalled everything else very normally. He remembered going up to the road and turning his Toyota off, then deciding to sleep in the Lexus because he didn't want to be so close to the road. He remembered finding Mark's jacket on the passenger seat of the car and shaking the glass off it before using it as a welcome blanket against the cold.

Sean sat up and stretched as best he could inside the vehicle. He opened the car door and got out, looking around at the field lit by the early morning sun. Where was Mark now? He would be back to being a human, right? The moon was long gone. Why wasn't he back by now?

As Jack looked around, he noticed a trampled path through the grass, headed toward the cluster of trees several hundred meters into the field. So naturally, he put on Mark's jacket—which had a scent that Sean associated with Mark—and followed it.

_x_

It took the first hour after it became light out for Mark to fully pull his mind away from the way it had been for the last six hours.

He sat at the edge of the trees, leaning his back against one of the trunks with his eyes closed, trying to relax and not think about everything that had happened last night.

His secret was out.

Sean McLoughlin knew he was a werewolf, and there would be no way to take that information away.

Mark covered his face with one hand and sighed. What would happen now? Would he ever be able to look at Jack again without thinking of trying to kill him?

Would Jack ever look at _Mark_ the same way again?

"How long have you been back?" the Irishman asked, startling Mark. He was only a few yards away, approaching at a casual walk.

"Back?" Mark asked, sounding weary even to his own ears. There was really only one thing Jack could have meant, but Mark still asked to clarify, or perhaps stall the coming conversation.

"Back to—normal."

Mark ran a hand through his hair and looked up to Jack. "I don't have a watch, but I'd guess almost two hours."

Jack glanced Mark up and down and took off his jacket—which Mark realized was actually his own—and held it out to him.

Not long before returning to human form, wolf-Mark had thought to go back near the Lexus—though he made the trip as quick as possible after realizing Jack was still there—to retrieve what was left of his clothing. His shirt was completely destroyed, so he'd left it, but the pants were still largely intact. Now, in the crisp morning air, Mark realized he was cold without a shirt on.

"Thanks," he said, and stood to take the jacket from Jack.

_x_

Sean watched Mark zip the jacket over the scars on his chest and as his gaze rose to Mark's face, he noticed just how tired Mark looked. It made sense, of course. The werewolf had probably been up all night without any rest, after all, and as Jack's gaze slid from Mark's face to the forest behind him, he saw claw marks across the trees. Everywhere.

Shocked, Sean walked past Mark into the leafless trees. Nearly every tree in sight had scratch marks across it, deep gouges in the bark that were so savage Jack was sure most of the plants wouldn't be able to recover later in the spring.

He walked up to one, running a finger along one of the gouges to judge its depth. He glanced to Mark and said, "You did…all of this?"

Mark cringed and nodded. "Something was different last night. I managed to retain some control over myself after you…" He glanced warily at Jack. "…said what you did. But once that went away….Jesus. The monster was furious. I had to scratch the shit out of the trees just to keep it from going back for you."

"Fuck," Jack whispered to himself. And he'd had the guts to sleep in a car with a broken windshield.

"I'm sorry," Mark said quickly. "After everything that happened, I don't know how I can—"

Sean turned sharply to him and said, "Don't apologize. This isn't your fault." He paused, and calmed his tone. "Mark. I don't know how all this is affecting you," he said slowly, and approached Mark without looking him in the eyes, "but I want to make a few things clear. First of all, this doesn't change my opinion of you. You're still a great friend and I l—I like you a lot, okay? I refuse to hold you accountable for anything the wolf does."

Mark looked at the ground and scratched the back of his head. "Well, it's—"

" _Secondly_ ," Sean stressed, pointedly interrupting him, "you're not a monster. I don't know if you've been convincing yourself of that—I damn well hope not, because you're a pretty optimistic guy—but if you are, stop. You're still yourself any time you're not in wolf form, and you're just as good a person as you ever were." Jack paused. "How long have ye been…a werewolf, now?"

"About three months," Mark answered. "This was only my third time transforming."

Sean nodded. "Oh, and thirdly, I won't tell anyone about this."

Mark smiled. "Thank you, Jack. Your reaction could have been so much worse, and I'm—I'm just really lucky to have a friend like you."

Jack smiled and did his best to ignore the fact that his cheeks felt slightly warm, as though he were blushing. "We should probably get back now. The others might wonder what the fuck we're doing."

Mark nodded and took a deep breath. As they started to walk back to the cars together, he said, "I'll have to come up with some sort of explanation for my lack of glasses."

Jack gave a short laugh. "I was more worried about your lack of car."

"That might be a bit more difficult."

Together, they walked away from what had happened that night, and together, they each put it behind them.

It wasn't the end of this story, but it would do.


End file.
